''This 12 tonne carved piece of Carrara marble (The Weeping Guardian) was laid 8 metres down on the sea floor off the coast of Tuscany, at Talamone, last week.

It is one of twenty five huge pieces of more or less carved stones put into the sea as part of a 5 year project to prevent illegal trawling along that coast line.

In due course another 200 great stones will protect a further 30 kilometres of coast which illegal fishing trawlers have been denuding for many years.

The sea floor there should be an abundance of sea-grass meadows, functioning as the sea life nursery, the breeding and feeding place of multitudes. At the moment the sea floor is barren in many places, the sea floor deserted, scraped and scarred by the illegal dragnet trawling form of fishing that goes on uninterrupted in these waters.

Within months of their arrival these stones will become home to myriad life forms, including corals, encouraging plant life and sea creatures to return.

It's the result of the long time dream of local Talamone fisherman Paolo Fanciulle, (aka Paolo Pescatore), to bring his vision of a restored sea to reality.

This stone guardian of the waters, designed and carved by Emily Young with assistance from Louis Russel and Johnny Cass, will rest there for millennia, doing his quiet work.

In March 2017, Emily Young's colossal Tempesta was unveiled at Godinton House and Gardens, Kent.
It is now on view to the public throughout the summer.
The gardens are open daily from 1pm - 6pm. Godinton House